Koh Lipe enacts 1 month lockdown restrictions from tomorrow

[Thaiger]

After a new outbreak of Covid-19, Koh Lipe island will become the latest Thai destination to go into semi-lockdown and harsh restrictions including a curfew. The governor of Lipe’s province Satun has ordered a month-long near lockdown beginning August 9 and ending September 5. The order, officially titled Satun Province 1482/2564 on preventative measures and control of Coronavirus disease 2019, comes after a cluster was uncovered with about 30 people infected with Covid-19 on Koh Lipe. The strict order requires the closure of all businesses related to tourism on the holiday island, so guesthouses, resorts, hotels, hostels, or any other […]

The post Koh Lipe enacts 1 month lockdown restrictions from tomorrow appeared first on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

[EdwardV]

“an awkward situation where more than 90 tourists currently vacationing on the island will no longer have any place to stay and have to evacuate the island” - that putting it mildly. Screwed would be the term I would use. Sadly it’s probably not the last of the areas which will soon be locked down. 

[Martin]

54 minutes ago, EdwardV said:

“an awkward situation where more than 90 tourists currently vacationing on the island will no longer have any place to stay and have to evacuate the island” - that putting it mildly. Screwed would be the term I would use. Sadly it’s probably not the last of the areas which will soon be locked down. 

And i wonder if the 90 tourists will have received a refund for their unused Koh Lipe hotel nights?

It just shows how difficult it is to try restart Thai tourism in any meaningful way whilst Covid is like it currently is. But i guess Thailand's dependence on tourism means they feel they have little other choice but to try. Can't see it working though, at least for the next year or so. 

[Soidog]

2 hours ago, Martin said:

It just shows how difficult it is to try restart Thai tourism in any meaningful way whilst Covid is like it currently is. But i guess Thailand's dependence on tourism means they feel they have little other choice but to try. Can't see it working though, at least for the next year or so

Yes I agree. I’ve always said that locking down was the easy part. Simply closing businesses and doing nothing is easy to achieve, albeit with damaging consequences economically. I think when Thailand, and many other countries went in to lockdown in March 2020, they assumed it would be for 2-3months. I’m sure few expected Covid to run the course it has for 17-18 months more. 
 

Even if they had been rolling out vaccines for the past 6 months, global tourism is well down. Sadly I can’t see tourists returning in anything like large numbers until Q4 2022. There should however be some very good hotel deals over the next 2-3 years until numbers start to recover. 

[Ldiablo22]

Absolutely asinine overreaction.

[bushav8r]

What a wonderful place to visit.  Likely even better without any tourists.  

[BJoe]

Spoiler

 

Those now caught in the latest scheme to kick start the tourist industry should have anticipated the pitfalls involved. They are victims of an inept government effort to prematurely open tourism without  taking the proper precautions regarding it’s own unvaccinated work force. All these new infections start from within.    In order for this scheme to have a chance of working,  the local population has to be vaccinated and tested,   then a complete lockout of the area 10 days prior to opening.   Chances are that these new infections are not attributed to vaccinated tourist who have twice been tested, but by unsafe, unscreened citizens sneaking into the area for work. So who gets punished but the fools who thought paying for overpriced accommodations in  a restricted entertainment venue with only 30% of the things they came to Thailand for being available.